Philippines HB 421 files to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

A Philippine lawmaker has filed a bill in the Philippines Lower House asking the government to establish a government-run Bitcoin reserve. The proposed legislation, labelled the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, was introduced in congressional session on Friday. 

House Committee on Information and Communications Technology chairperson and Camarines Sur Representative Migz Villafuerte tabled House Bill 421, which directs the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to implement a purchase program that would accumulate up to 2,000 bitcoins annually for five years.

This program would create a total reserve of 10,000 bitcoins to be held in trust for at least 20 years. Under the proposed legislation, the reserve may not be sold, swapped, or disposed of except to retire outstanding government debt.

Villafuerte reiterated that the initiative will diversify the nation’s monetary assets to and help in the convertibility of the peso in times of financial crisis.

 “It is imperative for the 20th Congress to write new legislation aimed at diversifying our assets,” he explained while also citing that US Fed chair Jerome Powell called Bitcoin “digital gold.”

Conditions for reserve management

Per the rules proposed by the bill, a year before the 20-year lock-up period ends, the BSP governor would be required to submit recommendations to Congress on whether to extend the reserve or to allow a partial release. 

House Bill 421 excerpt. Source: Hrep Online

Even then, the act restricts the disposal of bitcoins, permitting no more than 10 percent of the assets to be sold within any two-year span.

Villafuerte said the framework keeps the asset protected as a national store of value and for its limited, controlled use in the future.

The ICT House committee member also talked about Bitcoin’s recent surge to an all-time high of $108,319 as a strong basis for his proposal. He said the growth outpaces all other asset classes, recording a compound annual growth rate of about 40 percent over the past five years.

The congressman noted that US President Donald Trump backed a similar proposal by Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming for a strategic US Bitcoin reserve. 

According to an early August Cryptopolitan report, the White House has established a strategic Bitcoin reserve, according to Bo Hines, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets. 

Hines said the reserve is not merely under consideration but already in place, even though it was only briefly referenced in a federal crypto strategy paper released earlier on.

Speaking in an interview on Crypto in America recorded at the White House, Hines confirmed the government’s objective is to accumulate Bitcoin steadily.

Philippines reacts to international developments

The Philippine proposal comes as other governments are integrating Bitcoin into their financial structures. Villafuerte mentioned Switzerland as one government across the Atlantic discussing the addition of BTC as part of its official reserves alongside gold. 

Poland is also considering similar steps, while Hong Kong legislator Wu Jiezhuang has called for the special Chinese jurisdiction to integrate Bitcoin into the city’s reserves.

Villafuerte also said China has amassed significant Bitcoin holdings, and Malaysia has been changing crypto-related regulations to improve its financial system.

“It is vital for the Philippines to stockpile strategic assets such as BTC to serve important national interests,” Villafuerte stressed.

The BSP first acknowledged the use of virtual currencies in the country in 2014. At the time, the central bank warned that digital assets like Bitcoin were unregulated and highly volatile, cautioning consumers that no rules existed to protect them from potential losses.

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